Tampa City Council honors Linda Saul-Sena

Linda Saul-Sena served on the Tampa City Council for nearly 20 years. But in late June, she stepped down abruptly from the post to run for County Commission when she learned she missed a deadline for filing resign-to-run paperwork.

On Thursday, the council honored Saul-Sena for her years of service. These types of good-byes are often accompanied by the burying of any hatchets and sometimes great words of affection from even political rivals. Not so today.

Council member Mary Mulhern, one of Saul-Sena's most frequent allies on the board, made the presentation. With genuine sincerity, she lauded Saul-Sena for the work she's done on historic preservation, environmental issues, advocating for burying power lines, promoting the arts and pressing to adopt an ordinance allowing sidewalk cafes. Council Chairman Tom Scott thanked Saul-Sena for her years of service. But then he asked if any other council members wished to comment. The silence that followed was, well, awkward. (Although not as awkward as the day Gwen Miller fought against honoring Saul-Sena and then cast the lone vote against the measure.) Saul-Sena, a Democrat, is in a three-way race for the at-large District 5 County Commission seat. She's up against Commissioner Ken Hagan, a Republican, and Jim Hosler, who's running with no party affiliation.

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